Chapter 19
Episode 19. Hong Seung-hwi and Gwonga's Half-Sister (2)
Yunseo couldn't believe the amount written on that document.
How much money did she usually have to write such large amounts so carelessly?
"I'm worth twelve hundred taels of silver? Haa, was Gwonga's price that high? How glorious."
"Sister!"
"Do you even know how many bolts of cloth one tael of silver is worth?"
Yunseo asked out of pure curiosity.
One tael of silver was two bolts of cloth. Twelve hundred taels meant a whopping two thousand four hundred bolts.
A healthy female servant who could bear children easily and multiply wealth like a litter of pigs was worth only one hundred and fifty bolts!
"Is that important now? What will happen when a Palace Lady serving His Highness the Grandson commits such a grave offense? This concerns the dignity of the royal family and our His Highness the Grandson, so if you have any shame, Gwonga, leave the Palace at once."
Hong Seung-hwi shouted fiercely.
'Our' His Highness the Grandson. She speaks as if she cherishes our Hongwi so dearly at times like these.
"Am I in a position to leave the Palace? Aren't palace women forbidden to leave unless their superior passes away?"
Then Hong Seung-hwi shook her head.
"You are a main broadcast Palace Lady, aren't you?" You weren't officially brought in, but brought in by the late, ha-eung."
Hong Seung-hwi, lost in her own performance, dabbed at nonexistent tears with her light green ribbon and continued her passionate acting.
"Since you are a Palace Lady brought in by our pitiful Consort, if you cause trouble, the Gwonga family can take you back!"
Oh, really.
So that's how it was!
Then I can leave and live outside!
Suddenly, her chest felt wide open, and the deep melancholy from lack of exercise vanished in an instant.
But even if I have to leave, I can't leave as a debtor.
As Hong Seung-hwi said, our Hongwi must ascend the throne without a blemish and grow old safely, living as long as King Yeongjo.
"Alright. Give me that document box back."
"Uh, Sister. Uh, what are you going to do?"
"You said people from your house are coming, right? We need to check if they actually received my signature first."
"Look here. It's exactly your palm. The length and shape!"
Gwonga, being illiterate, couldn't write her name and instead used drawings of her hands as a signature, as was common for those who couldn't read in this era.
It was fortunate that Gwonga was illiterate. If there had been a handwriting, forgery would have been troublesome.
And it was also fortunate that King Sejong had not yet promulgated Hangeul.
Hangeul is so easy that even the foolish Gwonga would have learned it in a few days.
...Would she have learned it?
Yunseo had an obligation as a psychological counselor to maintain the confidentiality of client consultations, but at the same time, she had a duty to report client information to appropriate professional institutions if the client's safety was threatened.
The professional institution here meant the police. Yunseo had reported cases of child abuse to the police multiple times at the youth counseling center where she volunteered.
Even so, the children often had nowhere to return but home, leading to cover-ups and greater violence, which caused her to run along the riverbank crying alone many times.
She never imagined that the experience of meeting with Investigator Im occasionally, listening to the frustrating situations of child abuse victims, and hearing about other case studies and investigation methods would contribute to the scientific investigation techniques of this 15th-century Joseon.
If she had known, she should have learned more thoroughly. She should have asked and learned more diligently in all fields, like our great King Sejong.
Sighing belatedly, Yunseo wondered if graphite could be extracted in this era, then thought that since a fine powder was sufficient, charcoal could be used without issue.
"Sister, what do we do? Oh, Sister. I feel so sorry for you."
"If your heart aches so much, then sell the clothes you're wearing. Just those and the jewelry in your hair would be worth ten taels of silver."
Yunseo's words made Choi Gaeun's eyes widen.
Before her surprise that the foolish girl could say such things subsided, Yunseo drove the point home with an even bigger statement.
"That house you live in, the clothes you wear, the fifty thousand pyeong of land in Yangju, all of it was saved up by this sister, who didn't eat or wear it, right? Since things have turned out this way, my heart aches, but we have to sell it all to pay off the debt, so understand that. Hand over that document box."
"Uh, Sister! Th-that, it's not worth that much!"
"No matter how much it is, if you owe a debt, you must make at least a minimal effort to repay it; that is the duty of a debtor."
"M-Mama! Please say something."
When Yunseo wouldn't budge, Choi Gaeun pleaded with Hong Seung-hwi.
However, Hong Seung-hwi was not in a position to consider Choi Gaeun's situation.
She was surprised by the sheer amount of wealth the foolish Gwonga had accumulated without eating or wearing anything, and she suddenly feared whether selling it all would truly yield twelve hundred taels of silver.
Her maternal aunt, Lady Yun, wife of Grand Prince Suyang, had sent Jo Jeon-eon yesterday saying that Gwonga's half-sister would come today, so she had just recited what she was told.
But what if the debt could actually be settled by selling her assets?
However, the game had already begun, so she had to do her best to achieve the outcome.
"In any case, you are involved in the most heinous of lawsuits, a property dispute, so it is only right that you leave the Palace. How can you bring shame upon the future of our His Highness the Grandson?"
Yunseo suddenly felt disgusted by Hong Seung-hwi's actions, acting as a puppet for a group trying to destroy Lee Hyang, when she claimed to crave his affection and couldn't even offer a small help for him.
So, like Hong Seung-hwi's "Oh my" earlier, she elegantly raised her eyebrows and casually said,
"The Crown Prince dotes on me deeply. Last night, we spent a cozy time chatting, just the three of us: His Highness the Grandson, him, and me. So, if I tell His Highness, would twelve hundred taels of silver be a problem? He would pay it off with the bolts of cloth stored in the Royal Household Department and give me even more."
"Wh-what?"
Hong Seung-hwi's face turned ashen with shock, and Choi Gaeun, relieved, relaxed her rigid expression.
"However, as I am a person of integrity, I cannot possibly burden His Highness, who cherishes me so deeply. He is already working tirelessly with the Acting Regency, barely having time to sleep these days. I will resolve this debt myself."
After elegantly stating, "Even a mere Palace Lady has integrity and strives not to burden the Crown Prince, but what kind of creature are you, his wife?", Yunseo rose from her seat.
"Uh, Sister!"
A flustered Choi Gaeun clutched the box containing the fake debt document tightly to her chest.
"This, this, Father and I will somehow manage. As you said, my heart aches, so as a sister, I must do something, something."
"What can you possibly do? You borrowed money from Dochukji, the boatman at Mapo Ferry. Do you know who is behind him?"
"Be-behind him?"
Only now did Choi Gaeun realize she had fallen headfirst into the pit she had dug for herself.
She had been sending all the dried fish, rice, beans, salted shrimp, various soy sauces, monthly wages, and seasonal gifts without fail, sent by the foolish Gwonga who had been adopted as her child. She had been worried because there was no news that the Queen had bestowed a great reward upon her.
Dochukji, a man with a terrifying sword scar above his nose on his forehead, had visited with five or six equally terrifying individuals.
"If you do as you are told, all twelve hundred taels of silver will be yours."
And then he had handed over this box.
Her mother had cried a little, asking how she could do this to her sister, but sighed, saying that if they didn't do as they were told, they didn't know what harm the vicious Dochukji might inflict on their family, and told her to go to the Palace.
Her father, saying that he was finally repaying the favor of adopting his foolish child, had even borrowed a palanquin to carry her and was waiting outside Geonchunmun.
Unable to give or not give the box, Yunseo effortlessly took the box from Choi Gaeun, whose red lips trembled.
Gwonga is strong.
I really like this body.
I even learned how to ride a horse while running errands for the Crown Princess's maternal family, so I can relieve stress by galloping to Royal Lady Park's mansion in Bansongbang.
"I shall take my leave now. I must ponder how to repay the debt, so please excuse me."
Yunseo bowed elegantly and left Hong Seung-hwi's room.
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"Haa! That's good. Let's sell that and buy land in Wolgye outside Dongdaemun. Eom Sangjeon built his private residence there. In a while, when our Highness's era begins, Eom Sangjeon will be the head of the eunuch office, and then the eunuchs in the eunuch office will rush to build houses there to curry favor with him, so the price will skyrocket."
Royal Lady Park, having heard the situation, clapped her knees and rejoiced.
"Nosandae is the best in Hanyang at buying and selling land. Leave the selling of the Choi family's house and land, and the buying of Wolgye land to Nosandae. As for extracting that, whatchamacallit, and finding out who handled the documents, tell His Highness immediately. Our Highness, who feels the plight of illiterate citizens who are unjustly robbed of their homes and land due to forged documents as if it were his own, will be very pleased."
Our Royal Lady Park, who prevented Gwonga's signature by counting on her fingers, was also a master of solutions.
On this day, even as Hongwi played with a kite in the evening, with the wind blowing strongly, carrying the scent of rain, King Sejong had not summoned Yunseo.
Hongwi ran around the training ground for the guards under the Crown Prince's Igwisa, holding the kite string.
Yunseo also ran along, under the guise of being prepared in case Hongwi fell, as it was a rare opportunity to run.
The kite, made hastily by punching a hole in the center of sturdy mulberry paper, began to fly, its red tail fluttering.
"Gwonga, it's flying, it's flying, Gwonga!"
"Your Highness, it's really flying! Let out more string, more! More!"
Hongwi's laughter rolled across the hard, sandy ground, and the red sunset began to paint the sky beyond the western mountains.
Lee Hyang, returning to the East Palace, stopped his steps at the sound of Hongwi's laughter.
He was on his way back after a heated, hour-long debate with Minister of Rites Kim Jongseo and Grand Academician of the Hall of Worthies Jeong Inji about why the currency circulation promoted by the late king and the current king had failed, without finding an answer.
Following the sounds of laughter and applause, he arrived at the training ground and saw his young son running with all his might on his short, wobbly legs, and Gwonga running alongside him, cheering him on.
The strong wind fluttered her skirt, revealing glimpses of her undergarments, yet Gwonga's eyes shone softly with affection for her son, and her arms, clapping, were taut, ready to lift him safely at any moment.
"!"
A strange longing, which he had never needed to embrace because he was surrounded only by women who came to him without him seeking them, began to stir in Lee Hyang's heart.
Just then, Hongwi, about to trip over his own feet, was swiftly scooped up by Gwonga.
With the kite string still in his hand, Hongwi skillfully wrapped his arms around Gwonga's neck, and Gwonga, holding Hongwi tightly, shouted, "Let out the string, Your Highness!" and began to run forward.
Riding the wind, the square kite fluttered its tail and began to soar high into the sky.
At that moment, the red twilight, as it descended beyond the western mountains, poured down like a blessing upon the two people filled with vibrant joy and steadfast affection.
"......!"
His eyes grew warm, and Lee Hyang unconsciously clutched his chest.
It was the moment of the twenty-nine-year-old Crown Prince's belated first love!
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